Research


Administrative History

From its beginnings, the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York oversaw the position of Secretary of the Board. The Secretary was charged with administering the affairs of the Board of Regents; in particular, they were responsible for organizing and documenting (through the collection and publication of minutes) the regular meetings of the Board. As the authority of the Board of Regents increased in scope, much of the responsibility for administering this authority fell to the Secretary. By the 1890's, when the post was held by Melvil Dewey, the Secretary supervised full-time inspectors of secondary schools, libraries, colleges, and other institutions reporting to the Regents. With the unification of the University of the State of New York and the New York State Department of Public Instruction in 1904, which resulted in the creation of the New York State Education Department, many of the Secretary's responsibilities were transferred to the newly-created position of Commissioner of Education. From this point on, the Secretary's duties centered around the coordination of Regents' meetings and facilitating communication among the Regents, as well as between the Board of Regents and the educational community in New York.